july23

July 23, 2001

Week 10

Well, I did it, and it was relatively painless. Now that my work knows my big news, I'm free to wear whatever feels most comfortable to wear, so today I'm wearing comfy pants and a nice, big comfy shirt. Yay!

On Thursday afternoon (last week) I first went to HR, and when I told her and said I just didn't want to wait anymore because I was feeling very uncomfortable in normal clothes, she said "I completely understand...I'm due in January." She's due just about the same time as my friend April. So, that went really well. :) We talked about AI's maternity leave policy: using Short Term Disability, I'll get up to 90 days at 80% pay, plus I can "buy up" my salary to 100% by using paid time off days; 1 day equals 1 week. So, if I can keep a few days to carry over to next year, I can take off the whole time at 100% pay!

So then right after going to HR I went over to tell my manager. This was the part I was more nervous about, because I just started here in April and I didn't feel like I really knew him that well, so I didn't know how he would react. I went into his office and said "I have some news that I wanted to talk with you about" and his whole face just dropped, I could just tell he thought I was going to tell him that I was quitting. So then I quickly said "I know that the timing isn't so great because I just started here in April, and I've just recently begun getting a good handle on things around here, but I'm pregnant. I'm due in February." His whole face lit up and he said "that's not bad news, that's a good thing! Congratulations!" He told me it wasn't a problem at all, that we had plenty of time between now and then to figure out how to arrange projects, etc., and he was appreciative of me telling him this far in advance so that we won't have to make any sudden adjustments.

On Friday afternoon at our department meeting, I spilled the beans to my co-workers. They, too thought that I was about to say that I was resigning! But, what I told them was this: "You may or may not have noticed lately that I'm getting a little...rounder...these days. It's not that I've become a slob and I haven't started gorging myself at every meal and becoming a couch potato. Actually, I'm pregnant." Everyone was very excited for me, and they all said that they had no idea, although they did say that now some strange things made sense, like why I was always so tired, and why it seemed like I would not be feeling that well every single morning. I am just very relieved now that the secret is out. I can wear comfortable clothes without worrying about it, and I also don't have to try to hide my doctor's appointments.

I think I'm starting to get over morning sickness; it hasn't seemed nearly as bad for the last week. I've actually gotten through two or three days in a row without even TOUCHING my bag of crackers! QUITE the accomplishment! In its place, though, I think tiredness has overtaken the job of morning sickness. I thought I was tired before, but this whole week has really been a struggle for me. Of course, some of that last week might have been due to the fact that EVERY single night I had something to do, I didn't get my normal post-work, pre-dinner nap even once. By the time this weekend came, I was already exhausted, and we kept really busy this weekend too. Our friends Joe and Tricia are leaving for Massachusetts in a couple weeks, so we spent the afternoon with them, and then Phil and I took Phil's dad out for dinner and then to the bus station (he's going to start long-haul trucking this week). By the time church was over yesterday, I was ready to collapse. We took our normal Sunday afternoon nap, but then we didn't make it to our home group fellowship last night because I had just done ALL I could do for that week, I couldn't take one more thing. I'm also noticing that suddenly my mood swings are becoming more pronounced. I cry at the dumbest little things, and then just five minutes later (or less) I completely forget what the problem was. When we were driving out to Joe and Tricia's on Saturday morning, I accidentally started heading the wrong direction on the freeway - I was heading to work instead of their house!! - and whereas ordinarily this would have been irritating, I really got upset by this. I'm also dropping things constantly and I can't seem to keep a coherent thought a lot of times. According to "the books" that I've read, these are all normal things, but boy do they irritate me!

Oh, one more thing- I've had my first completely odd pregnancy dream! I dreamt that we were at a wedding reception, and there was another guest there who was about 8 months pregnant. What was odd was that she was carrying her baby in a bizarre way - the baby's feet were against her body and the baby was stretched out straight from there - like it was standing on her stomach, and her belly was stretched out horizontally so much that you could see the baby through her skin. It was VERY strange!



	July 23, 2001 Week 10 Well, I did it, and it was relatively painless. Now that my work knows my big news, I'm free to wear whatever feels most comfortable to wear, so today I'm wearing comfy pants and a nice, big comfy shirt. Yay! On Thursday afternoon (last week) I first went to HR, and when I told her and said I just didn't want to wait anymore because I was feeling very uncomfortable in normal clothes, she said "I completely understand...I'm due in January." She's due just about the same time as my friend April. So, that went really well. :) We talked about AI's maternity leave policy: using Short Term Disability, I'll get up to 90 days at 80% pay, plus I can "buy up" my salary to 100% by using paid time off days; 1 day equals 1 week. So, if I can keep a few days to carry over to next year, I can take off the whole time at 100% pay! So then right after going to HR I went over to tell my manager. This was the part I was more nervous about, because I just started here in April and I didn't feel like I really knew him that well, so I didn't know how he would react. I went into his office and said "I have some news that I wanted to talk with you about" and his whole face just dropped, I could just tell he thought I was going to tell him that I was quitting. So then I quickly said "I know that the timing isn't so great because I just started here in April, and I've just recently begun getting a good handle on things around here, but I'm pregnant. I'm due in February." His whole face lit up and he said "that's not bad news, that's a good thing! Congratulations!" He told me it wasn't a problem at all, that we had plenty of time between now and then to figure out how to arrange projects, etc., and he was appreciative of me telling him this far in advance so that we won't have to make any sudden adjustments. On Friday afternoon at our department meeting, I spilled the beans to my co-workers. They, too thought that I was about to say that I was resigning! But, what I told them was this: "You may or may not have noticed lately that I'm getting a little...rounder...these days. It's not that I've become a slob and I haven't started gorging myself at every meal and becoming a couch potato. Actually, I'm pregnant." Everyone was very excited for me, and they all said that they had no idea, although they did say that now some strange things made sense, like why I was always so tired, and why it seemed like I would not be feeling that well every single morning. I am just very relieved now that the secret is out. I can wear comfortable clothes without worrying about it, and I also don't have to try to hide my doctor's appointments. I think I'm starting to get over morning sickness; it hasn't seemed nearly as bad for the last week. I've actually gotten through two or three days in a row without even TOUCHING my bag of crackers! QUITE the accomplishment! In its place, though, I think tiredness has overtaken the job of morning sickness. I thought I was tired before, but this whole week has really been a struggle for me. Of course, some of that last week might have been due to the fact that EVERY single night I had something to do, I didn't get my normal post-work, pre-dinner nap even once. By the time this weekend came, I was already exhausted, and we kept really busy this weekend too. Our friends Joe and Tricia are leaving for Massachusetts in a couple weeks, so we spent the afternoon with them, and then Phil and I took Phil's dad out for dinner and then to the bus station (he's going to start long-haul trucking this week). By the time church was over yesterday, I was ready to collapse. We took our normal Sunday afternoon nap, but then we didn't make it to our home group fellowship last night because I had just done ALL I could do for that week, I couldn't take one more thing. I'm also noticing that suddenly my mood swings are becoming more pronounced. I cry at the dumbest little things, and then just five minutes later (or less) I completely forget what the problem was. When we were driving out to Joe and Tricia's on Saturday morning, I accidentally started heading the wrong direction on the freeway - I was heading to work instead of their house!! - and whereas ordinarily this would have been irritating, I really got upset by this. I'm also dropping things constantly and I can't seem to keep a coherent thought a lot of times. According to "the books" that I've read, these are all normal things, but boy do they irritate me! Oh, one more thing- I've had my first completely odd pregnancy dream! I dreamt that we were at a wedding reception, and there was another guest there who was about 8 months pregnant. What was odd was that she was carrying her baby in a bizarre way - the baby's feet were against her body and the baby was stretched out straight from there - like it was standing on her stomach, and her belly was stretched out horizontally so much that you could see the baby through her skin. It was VERY strange!